It had been a few minutes since I started drying myself by the campfire, wearing Ethan's clothes.

As the smoke from the fire rose into the sky and the smell of grilled fish spread, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘I feel like I’m forgetting something important….’

We had secured shelter, food, and now I was drying my clothes to wear again.

As I was pondering what I might have forgotten, I suddenly heard a familiar monster cry from deep within the forest on the opposite side of the river, one I had heard just yesterday.

‘Kerrr!’

‘Krreeek, keeeek!’

Ah, right.

In my rush to dry my wet clothes, I had completely forgotten. Starting a fire in the forest, especially in a place like this, was bound to attract wild monsters.

After all, this forest was called the "Hobgoblin's Forest," so it was only natural that continuous battles were inevitable. And a campfire with its smoke and the smell of grilled food was an especially effective lure for monsters.

‘Well, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.’

It wasn’t as if any named monsters had appeared—just a group of goblins and a couple of hobgoblins. I was a bit tired, with only a little mana left, but I could handle them alone.

Besides, there was also a Sword Expert here, a third-year from the swordsmanship club. And to me, he was far more reliable than any warrior.

“Lilith, you can rest. I’ll take care of this.”

“No, I’ll fight as well.”

“…In that state?”

“Why even ask something so obvious?”

I wasn’t about to miss out on this valuable experience event just because I was a little underdressed.

Anyway, once we entered this forest, every moment had the potential to turn into a battle. And my current state wasn’t exactly a problem for fighting.

I put my arms into the sleeves of the academy jacket Ethan had lent me, fastened the buttons over my chest, and…

• Pop.

“……”

• Snap!

‘Oh, for crying out loud….’

I gave up on the buttons and wore the jacket loosely, then retrieved two daggers from the clothes hanging on the drying rack and equipped one in each hand.

The monsters were already approaching us, so I didn’t have time to waste on such trivial things.

“I’ll handle the lesser monsters below goblins. Ethan Dojonnim, please take care of the two hobgoblins.”

“…Alright, Lilith.”

At my suggestion, Ethan took his stance, gripping a sword in each hand.

And so, the second day of our Natural Studies Exploration came to an end.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Two full days had passed since I used my mana blast to secure food.

Ethan and I had now reached the fourth day of our survival—no, Natural Studies Exploration.

Though it wasn’t much different from being stranded, we had reached the afternoon of the fourth day.

After yet another goblin hunt, which had almost become a regular event, we were now engaged in the "collecting hunting trophies" task.

‘…By now, a few students must have completed the course early.’

There were two main ways to complete Luminar Academy's Natural Studies Exploration course.

One was the "early completion" method, where you hunted monsters in the Hobgoblin's Forest and submitted their remains to the professor.

The other was the "survival completion" method, where you endured the full five nights and six days in harsh conditions.

There was no real difference in grades between the two methods. The course was evaluated on a pass/fail basis.

As long as you didn’t experience a life-threatening crisis and get rescued by the green-haired professor, quit and leave the forest, or get expelled for inappropriate behavior (like sexual acts, arson, or violence between students), surviving for the full six days guaranteed a passing grade.

And after spending about 70 hours in this forest, Ethan and I had already collected more than enough points for early completion.

• Thud!

“Lilith, I’ve finished dealing with the ones on my side.”

“I’ve taken care of all of mine as well, Ethan Dojonnim. Thank you for your hard work.”

We had more than enough materials to submit for early completion, even if we combined both of our portions.

‘Our combination is just too good.’

With Ethan, the Sword Expert, and me, the survival expert, hunting in this forest was as easy as eating soup.

As long as we kept the fire going, the monsters would keep coming.

“This concludes the Natural Studies Exploration, Lilith.”

“…Yes, it seems so.”

In other words, the official course schedule was over.

All we had to do now was gather the monster materials we had collected and submit them to the green-haired professor at the forest’s entrance. Then we could leave without having to spend the next two days here.

Of course, the term "suffering" was relative, and by now I was so used to the forest life that it didn’t feel like a hardship at all. In fact, I had a much better idea than just leaving the forest after submitting the materials.

I planned to spend the remaining two days hunting in this favorable environment and milk as much experience as I could, then complete the course through "survival completion."

‘Though it might only be good for me, Ethan might not feel the same.’

Unlike me, who was limited in mobility due to my status, Ethan could travel and gather experience whenever and wherever he wanted.

He wasn’t as desperate for the experience from monster hunting as I was. And given his position, he didn’t need to level up so urgently either.

Sure, reaching Sword Master level early would bring many benefits, but given the age when Harold reached Sword Master level, Ethan still had a few years ahead of him.

And becoming a Sword Master wasn’t something that could be achieved just by leveling up; hunting a few more goblins wouldn’t accelerate that process.

“Lilith?”

“…Ah, did you call me, Ethan Dojonnim?”

“You suddenly seem deep in thought. Are you worried about something?”

“…It’s nothing. Rather, now that we’ve secured the conditions for early completion, let’s submit the materials and complete the course early, Ethan Dojonnim.”

“…Hmmm.”

Ethan sighed lightly and looked at me, as if something didn’t sit well with him.

Then, as if he had figured something out, he cautiously asked me a question.

“Lilith, it seems like you’re not too keen on early completion, are you?”

“…I don’t understand what you mean, Ethan Dojonnim.”

“It’s just that when you mentioned early completion, your expression didn’t seem happy at all. Do you still have something you want to do in the forest?”

“…It’s not that, I just…”

“You’re lying again. You always give yourself away when you lie, Lilith.”

“……”

“So, are you going to tell me now, or do I have to ‘make’ you tell me even here?”

…This arrogant brat.

Seeing him openly make such remarks, it was clear he had grown quite bold, likely because I had let him win a few times at night recently.

He knew I only played along when he defeated Harold and was giving him his reward.

“……”

But if Ethan really did decide to pounce on me, I had no means of resisting.

For now, I had no choice but to confess the real reason I didn’t want to leave the forest yet.

“To be honest, I don’t really want to leave the forest right now.”

“Why?”

“Well, this place offers opportunities for ‘real combat training’ that I can’t get anywhere else. No matter how much I spar with the swordsmanship club students at the academy or with the master or you at the Blackwood estate, there’s always hesitation because we can’t use lethal force. Here, I can use killing moves against the monsters, and in return, I can learn defensive techniques from monsters who only use such moves. I want to stay a bit longer to continue training.”

“…I see. So you weren’t too fond of the idea of leaving early, huh?”

“And also….”

“Yes?”

“…It’s not every day I get to spend time alone with you, Ethan Dojonnim.”

“……”

“……”

As my cautious confession hung in the air, Ethan’s face slowly turned red.

The heat rising to my face after speaking those words made me think I must have turned bright red as well.

But, well, he told me to be honest, so I was. The second reason was just as important as the first.

Even though we shared a large room in the academy dormitory, with Isabel using the small room next to ours, we didn’t have many chances to be truly alone.

There might be other opportunities to be alone together during future exploration courses, but since we already had a stable base here, I didn’t want to waste this chance.

“If… if that’s the case, then I guess we have no choice.”

“……”

“Alright. We’ll stay for two more days until the course ends, then we’ll leave.”

“…Are you sure, Ethan Dojonnim?”

“If you want to, I don’t mind. Besides… I’m happy as long as I’m with you, Lilith.”

“…Thank you for your consideration, Ethan Dojonnim.”

We had reached an agreement—Ethan and I would remain in the forest for the remaining 50 hours until the course officially ended.